Foreign Minister
Julie Bishop
has dismissed the opposition’s claims the government will have to abandon its election promises in order to strike a free-trade agreement with China.

She said Chinese president
Xi Jinping
had “enthusiastically welcomed" talks with Prime Minister
Tony Abbott
about an expedited free-trade agreement during the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Bali.

President Xi was aware of the Coalition’s plans to tighten foreign investment rules, she said.

“So I think Labor is on the same page on this one," Ms Bishop told ABC radio on Friday.

Debuting as Australian prime minister on the world stage during key regional talks this week, Mr Abbott said he wanted to come to an agreement with China on free trade within 12 months.

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But the opposition said securing that deal would require the Coalition going back on its promise to lower the threshold at which the Foreign Investment Review Board is called in to assess investment proposals.

Former trade minister Richard Marles told ABC television on Thursday night that China would not accept the Coalition’s “xenophobic" policies.

“It will be impossible for the Abbott government to conclude a free-trade agreement with China so long as they take a position of reducing the threshold in relation to the Foreign Investment Review Board," Mr Marles said.

“It’s the single most important ambition that China has in negotiating an agreement with us. And frankly the only reason you reduce that threshold is because of pandering to xenophobic attitudes which exist within the Coalition and particularly the National Party."